Drawer front



July 8; 1958 J. G.- HANSEN ET AL DRAWER FRONT Filed Aug. 10, l955 5 S m n N M R E 0 m n n E A A8 HE w m M m 6 av mm J M w Y B DRAWER FRONT Jorgen G. Hansen, Brooklyn, and Jens Thuesen, Mamaroneck, N. Y., assignors to Huntington Chair Corporation, Huntington, W. Va., a corporation of West Virgima Application August 10, 1955, Serial No. 527,562

2 Claims. (Cl. 312-320) -The present invention relates to drawer front and more particularly to a new type of drawer front for case pieces including such items as chest of drawers, dresser, dresser desk, etc.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved drawer front having in combination a drawer pull and a decorative and protective insert mounted removably or fixed in the base or rear portion of the recess or channel which is made in the front wall of the drawer for the purpose of admitting the fingers to grasp the pull whereby the drawer may be drawn out or opened.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved drawer front or a front wall for the drawer in which, in addition to the undercut portions back of the hand holds which constitute the drawer pulls, there are provided grooves or ways in which the edges of a plastic or other slide insert panel may be mounted by being entered through one or other side edge of the drawer, Which panel will show through the recess between the upper and lower hand holds and may be colored or otherwise decoratively treated in conformity or contrast with the color scheme or decoration of the front surface of the front wall of the drawer in order to produce pleasing decorative effects.

A further object of the invention is to provide a removable and an easily cleanable panel, for instance of plastic or Formica, with which the fingers or knuckles of the hands of the operator may engage rather than with any woodwork surfaces that would be viewable through the drawer pull recess, to the end that any soil or perspiration marks received on the panel from the hand of the operator can be readily wiped and removed to instantaneously restore the clean and trim appearance of the decoration.

It is a further object of the invention to achieve the above purposes economically and with a minimum of constructional modification of conventional drawer fronts and at the same time to enhance the appearance of furniture embodying the invention and thereby increasing its sale value and customer desirability.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings wherein like symbols refer to like or States Patent Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 in Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 designates the drawer front or front wall, 11 and 12 the side walls of the drawer and 13 the bottom thereof.

Pursuant to the invention, the front wall 10 is provided with a recess or channel 14 opening through the front face of the wall 10 and running the entire width of the drawer so that the ends of this recess or channel 14 open through the side edges of the front wall 10. Within this recess or channel 14 are undercut portions 15 and 16 in front of which are the overlying hand holds 17 and 18.

The rear wall of the recess or channel 14 is indicated at 19 and is preferably substantially flat and preferably in a substantially flat vertical plane.

At the upper and lower portions of this rear surface 19 are upper and lower grooves 20 and 21 for a slide panel 22. These grooves 20 and 21 penetrate into the wood or other material of the front wall 10 above and below the undercut portions 15 and 16 so that forward shoulders 23 and 24 are thereby provided for confining the slide panel 22 over comparatively long although vertically narrow areas of its front surface to prevent the panel 22 from tilting forwardly into the recess or channel 14 and its undercut portions 15 and 16.

These grooves 20 and 21 also open through opposite edges of the drawer front 10 and they provide ways in which the panel 22 may be introduced and slid into the channel or recess 14.

The profile configuration of the recess or channel 14, its undercut portions 15 and 16 and the grooves 20 and 21 with their forward shoulders 23 and 24 are all best seen in Figure 4. In Figure 3 the method of entry of the panel 22 into the ways or grooves 20, 21 is illustrated. A leading edge of the panel 22 is introduced through one end into the grooves 20 and 21 and the panel 22 is then pushed until its leading edge arrives at the other end of the front wall 10, at which time the trailing edge of the panel 22 will have arrived at the entrance end of the recess or channel 14. In other words it is proposed that the panel 22 be of the same length as the channel or recess 14, that is of the same length as the width of the drawer. The panel 22 will therefore conceal any wood or drawer front surfaces, including the rear surface 19 which would, but for the presence of the panel 22, show through the gap between the free edges of the hand holds 17 and 18. The insert panel 22, before insertion may be colored in various colors or other decorative schemes to contrast or conform to various finishes which are given furniture in accordance with the current vogue. Plastics and Formica lend themselves particularly to the acquisition of various colors and various finishes and decorative schemes and at the same time such materials are resistant to permanent damage of the imposed coloring or decoration from perspiration, soil or the like which is apt to be transferred from the fingers of the operator in the act of pulling the drawer out from its closed position.

It will be appreciated that the protective and decorative features which furniture equipped with the insert may be endowed will promote sales and enhance the market value of the furniture.

The slide panel is readily removable for cleaning or for redecoration or for the substitution of other panels.

Although we have disclosed herein the best form of the invention known to us at this time, we reserve the right to all such modifications and changes as may come within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a drawer front, a front wall, having a channel extending the entire width thereof, said channel including upper and lower portions that are undercut to form concave configurations from the front toward the rear thereof, said undercut portions defining upwardly and downwardly projecting finger holds, a flat wall forming the rear of said channel, upper and lower grooves formed in said channel adjacent said rear wall and extending the width of said drawer front above and below said upper and lower undercut portions respectively, said grooves having a forward shoulder formed on the front thereof and adjoining the adjacent undercut portions, and a removable panel located in said grooves and spaced from said upper and lower finger holds, said removable panel thereby defining a decorative and protective member for said drawer front.

2. In a drawer front, a front wall having a channel extending the entire width thereof, said channel including upper and lower portions that are undercut to form concave configurations from the front toward the rear thereof, said undercut portions defining upwardly and downwardly projecting finger holds, the opening between said finger holds forming the narrowest part of said channel, a flat wall forming the rear of said channel, upper and lower grooves formed in said channel adjacent said rear wall and extending the width of said drawer front above and below said upper and lower undercut portions respectively, each of said grooves having a forward shoulder formed on the front thereof and adjoining the adjacent undercut portion, and a removable panel located in said grooves and spaced from said upper and lower finger holds, said removable panel lying in face contact with the rear flat wall of said channel and defining a decorative and protective member for said drawer front.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 170,556 Sterling Oct. 6, 1953 1,344,223 Davis June 22, 1920 1,639,786 Steinmetz Aug. 23, 1927 2,335,391 Cushing Nov. 30, 1943 2,653,851 Davidson Sept. 29, 1953 

